


Pretty loops in letters of silver (so let me bleed ink)

by Xoie



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien losing his mind, Christmas Cards, Christmas Party, F/M, Half-Reveal, Handwriting, Post season 3 and New York special, Subtle Ladynoir just because
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:48:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28267128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xoie/pseuds/Xoie
Summary: Who knew Christmas cards could cause such a ruckus?In which Adrien loses his sanity.
Relationships: Adrinette - Relationship, Semi-Adrigami, ladynoir
Comments: 4
Kudos: 76





	Pretty loops in letters of silver (so let me bleed ink)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi hi! Okay, so I've been gone for a bit but I may or may not have a new year's present brewing for ya'll. I wrote this for a team over on amino. It's a bit rushed near the end since I had a deadline to meet. Also my hand slipped and this 2.5k fic somehow turned into a 4k one??? somehow???? 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

_Come on, come on, please…_

Zeroed in. Marinette was zeroed in. 

Her head was in the game, her lungs burning in the process. 

Her feet pounded against the hallway floor as she sprinted towards the entrance of her school. The gates were wide open, giving a clear view of the flurries gracefully fluttering towards the ground just outside. The chill in the foyer prompted her to move swiftly. 

Faster. She needed to run faster. 

It was the dead of winter and with Christmas right around the corner, Marinette knew she was walking a very thin line. The raven head had spent the entirety of the school day chasing down all her friends and giving them their personalized Christmas cards. 

She had gotten to everyone. All but _him_.

Her heart nearly leapt upon seeing a figure coming up the stairs. Her anticipation fell flat, however, when her eyes registered a head of dark hair. Wrong colour. Wrong boy.

“Marc!” Marinette hollered, hoping that her voice would cause the young boy to stop. 

It seemed that luck was on her side today for the noir head turned towards the sound of her voice and thundering feet. 

“Oh, hey Marinette! Are you leaving early today?” 

Panting for air, the raven head came to a slow stop and wearily waved her hands, dismissing his attempt to make small talk. 

“Did- hah- did you- hah- see Adrien and Kagami outside?” she spoke with laboured breath. 

Marc took one look at the girl’s frazzled appearance and slowly cocked a brow. 

Sticking his thumb out towards the door, he gave her a sympathetic look. “Uh..sorry but you just missed them.” 

Her lungs deflated as did her previous determination. She was a minute too late. 

Thinning her lips, the raven head glanced down at the card in her hand. To think, she had purposefully missed so many chances to give Adrien his card simply because she had let herself believe that she would be able to give it to him later. 

Well, now it was ‘later.’

Letting out a small, dejected sigh, Marinette met eyes with Marc once more. Forcing herself to smile, she tilted her head. 

“Awe, that’s okay. Thanks anyway!” 

"Anytime," he grinned before turning on his heel.

Waving the writer goodbye, Marinette felt her gut clench as her eyes moved to set on the snow littered street outside. 

Her gaze lingered on the road, skin prickling beneath her soft, pastel pink, woolen sweater. It was only after she spotted the faint tire tracks- from Adrien’s car, no doubt, that Marinette decided she should head to English. 

Knowing she didn’t have any classes with him the following day, the raven head hoped that maybe she would be able to give the blonde his card anyway. If she could get herself to give it to him without putting it off like she had today, that is.

Besides, what did she think would happen? Sure, Adrien would be kind and appreciate her for the thoughtful gesture but...she knew well, unlike the rest of the school, that he was slowly fostering a thing for Kagami. 

And no, it wasn't because they fenced together or hung out at events that their parents would drag them to, it was more so the fact that Marinette found them to have multiple things in common. 

Last she checked, she didn't have fancy events she was needed at, nor did she qualify to be partnered with him at fencing tournaments, like the one taking place today. She also didn't have a clue about what life was like with strict parents- and she was grateful for the fact! 

Still, at the end of the day, it just made sense for Adrien to have a thing for Kagami rather than her.

It was a bitter fact to acknowledge and although it stung at times, it didn't really matter much.

Marinette had already made her decision. She would be Adrien’s friend. That’s all. 

Nothing more and certainly nothing less.

Besides, she didn’t want to be a homewrecker. 

_'echnically, there is no ‘home’ to ‘wreck’ yet-_

Shaking away her annoying inner voice, the raven head brought her blueing fingers to her lips. Warming her hands with her warm breath, Marinette decided to put her musings to rest. 

Right now, she had a class to attend. 

* * *

“Four, five, six…. _seven_ -” 

The unceasing vibration that seemed to fill the room finally tore Marinette’s focus from her counting. She thought she had heard some buzzing earlier but had simply brushed it off as Tikki flying around her loft. 

However, now it seemed the noise had only gotten louder and more definite, demanding her attention. With a sigh, the raven head pushed herself away from her work table and swiveled in her pink office chair. 

Getting to her feet, she made her way towards the ladder that led up to her bed. 

She hadn’t even properly climbed all the way up when suddenly, a very panicked Tikki zipped before her face, causing her to nearly lose balance and fall down backward.

“Marinette! There’s an emergency!” 

All the questions that shot through her head dissolved as soon as she registered her kwami holding onto the genesis of all that buzzing. 

The object responsible for the distracting noise was the black, plush cat she had gotten before her class trip to New York. Its meows had sounded muffled from where she had been sitting below. 

Marinette’s grip on the rails tightened. Chat noir was in trouble.

Giving Tikki a short but firm nod, the raven head raced down her ladder and swiftly padded to the far side of her room. Yanking her drawer open, she quickly grabbed a handful of power up macarons. She wasn’t sure how many of each were in her yo-yo and didn’t want to risk missing any if the impending fight called for one.

Before she could hip-butt the drawer shut, her eyes noticed the Christmas card she had made for Chat resting next to the box of coloured pastries. 

Her gaze lingered on the card for a moment, her mind debating whether or not to grab it as well. 

The thing was, Marinette had intentionally made Chat noir a card. He was her best friend too, after all. In fact...after what went down in New York, she had realized just how much he meant to her. 

With her heart in her throat, she hesitated for a breath before deciding to take the card along with her. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to see him on Christmas so giving him the card early was playing it safe. 

Without dwelling on the matter any longer, Marinette quickly transformed into Ladybug and slipped out of her room through the trapdoor that led to her balcony. 

The chilly, winter air that greeted her was frigid to say the least. As the dropping temperature of nightfall nipped at Ladybug’s cheeks, the spotted heroine tried her best to keep from shivering and focused on pinpointing any chaos. 

After leaping across a few roofs, Ladybug realized that it was awfully quiet. In fact, there was no trace of commotion anywhere. The night was dark and leaden with slumber. 

Making a frown, she came to a stop behind a chimney and opened her yo-yo to track down her partner. That’s when Ladybug noticed something off. 

Chat noir’s tracker was stock-still. 

What was even more interesting was the _location_ of his immobility. 

With a sigh, the heroine dismissed the apprehensive lump within her stomach and flung her yo-yo onto a nearby lamp post, swinging towards Arc de Triomphe. 

* * *

Chat noir did his best to keep his hands from trembling as he waited for his partner to turn up. His legs hung over the concrete ledge and swung out of habit. It was pretty chilly out tonight and although he had cleared the snow littering the spot he sat at, Chat couldn’t deny the fact that he should have brought along a coat. 

His ears twitched as he heard the familiar sound of a yo-yo being reeled. Turning his head, he was able to catch Ladybug gracefully landing on the roof just a few steps from where he sat. 

“Hey,” he waved, unsure if he was about to be scolded for misusing the emergency remote.

Ladybug met his gaze and frowned. Immediately, his back went ramrod-straight. It wasn’t until she sat herself down next to him that he began to relax. 

“Hi,” she replied in greeting, scooting a bit closer to him. 

Surprised by her action, Chat noir took it as an opportunity to explain himself. If she wasn’t yelling at him yet, he may as well get on with what he wanted to say. 

Scratching his nape- a habit that surfaced whenever he was nervous, Chat noir compelled himself to look his partner in the eyes. The way those sapphires glowed beneath the winter moon made it all the more difficult. 

Swallowing, he tried to sound as sincere and apologetic as he could. 

“So, I know I’m only supposed to use the cat for emergencies-” 

“Mmmhmm,” Ladybug cut in dryly, crossing her arms. 

“-sorry,” he cringed, “I- well, there is no emergency per say but I...” with a sigh, he looked away, unable to keep her gaze as he continued. “I guess I just needed someone who I could talk to tonight.” 

Finishing quietly, Chat waited for Ladybug to scold him but she never did. 

In fact, he felt a palm of warmth on his shoulder. Slowly but surely, he looked over to see the heroine offering him a sympathetic smile. He felt her squeeze his shoulder before she spoke. 

“It’s okay, Chat. We all have our days. Though, don’t make a habit out of it,” giving him two, soft taps, Ladybug removed her hand from his shoulder and placed it in her lap. “Anyways, what’s up, kitty?” 

For a moment, all he could do was stare. 

He marveled upon how...lightly she was taking him misusing a tool. He knew a year ago, he definitely wouldn’t have gotten this reaction from her. In fact, it would have been the complete opposite. 

It was funny how time changed things.

With a deep intake, he began to explain his dilemma. He told her how he was interested in this one girl from his school- being sure to be as vague as he could. He explained how although he felt something for the girl, he was still unsure if he wanted to pursue something concrete with her. Ladybug listened to him intently, nodding every so often. 

Finally, he got to the main issue- the dance. Again, being as vague as he could, he described how he felt as though the girl was expecting him to ask her to a winter dance his school was holding tomorrow night. However, he explained that he felt that if he were to ask Ka- _the girl_ to the dance, she would assume that things between them were rock solid. That he was ready to make things official. 

“-But you don’t,” Ladybug interrupted, snapping her mouth shut as quickly as she had opened it after mumbling a faint apology.

Chat noir let out a muffled chuckle before agreeing with a heavy sigh, “Yeah..” 

Ladybug hummed in thought before wording herself as best she could. “..knowing you, you probably feel like if you don’t ask her, she’ll take offence?” 

“Yep.”

For a moment, they sat in a comforting quiet.

“Well Chat, I can’t say that I know what you should do but...why don’t you just talk to her? Tell her you aren’t ready? I’m sure she’ll understand.” 

Chat noir internally cringed upon the suggestion. His mind went back to early summer, to the fateful day Master Fu had lost his memories. He had told Kagami that he wasn’t ready when she had leaned in to kiss him and well, she hadn’t exactly taken a liking to his indecision. 

“Yeahhhh, it’s...complicated.” 

Ladybug didn’t say anything after that. 

He couldn’t tell if it was in his head but he felt this odd stiffness in her form tonight. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the cold or something he said. 

Tearing his gaze from the snowy horizon, he was surprised to find a faint glumness in her features. It wasn’t long before her eyes snapped to his and she caught him staring. The corner of her mouth quirked up in a small yet teasing grin. 

Suddenly, she was getting to her feet, causing him to do the same. 

“I’d love to stay and chit- _chat_ with you for a bit longer but seeing as it’s a school night and ridiculously cold, I think we should head on back home?” 

“Oh, yeah. For sure.” 

Chat noir waited for her to leave. She didn’t. 

Instead, Ladybug stood her ground and studied his face. He felt her gaze trailing his every feature and his heart began to race. 

Then, just as he was about to ask her what was the matter, something changed in her eyes. A delicate softness encompassed her irises and for a moment, Chat forgot how to breathe. 

Finally, she parted her lips, “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you with your problem but-”

“-what? No, no, no- Ladybug,” he noticed the way she subtly flinched, “you helped me by listening. Seriously, you being here was more than enough.” 

He watched as she smiled, the faintest hint of red colouring her cheeks. He didn’t want to get ahead of himself and label it off as a blush. It was fairly nippy out, meaning the appearance of rouge must have been from the cold. 

“Well then, I’m glad I could help,” she finished by giving him a playful punch in the arm.

Chat noir chuckled, rubbing the spot. 

“Anyways, before you scatter back home, I um, made you a little something for Christmas.” 

It was as if his chest had swelled. The fact that Ladybug had done anything specifically for him and him alone caused his heart to race. 

He witnessed, curious yet dumbfounded, as she pulled a burgundy card from her yo-yo. 

“I wasn’t sure if we would get the chance to see each other on Christmas so, here,” she held out the card to him and gave him a smile that warmed his cheeks, “merry early Christmas, kitty.” 

Gently taking the card, he stared at it for a moment, taking in the green glitter lining the sides. A single, holographic snowflake was glued to the center of the card. 

His eyes flew back up to meet Ladybug’s and he found himself to be at a loss of words. 

He knew he shouldn’t- his brain was screaming at him to keep his hands to himself. However, at that moment, he didn’t care. His body naturally gravitated towards hers, his arms collecting her in a tight embrace. 

Ladybug came to life with a soft chortle and squeezed him back, equally tight. 

“Thank you,” he whispered against her hair before forcing himself to pull away. 

Ladybug shot him a smirk and cocked a brow beneath her mask. 

“Still not calling me m’lady, huh?” 

His eyes widened and he nearly fumbled with his words before she waved her hand and chuckled, “I’m only teasing, Chat.” 

Something about the way her eyes tightened inclined him to believe otherwise. Still, he shrugged it off with a nervous chuckle of his own. 

“And you’re welcome. Get home safe, yeah?” Ladybug nodded towards the city and unhooked her yo-yo. 

Upon this, he smiled, “you too...bugaboo.” 

His heart clenched upon that dainty look of surprise that filled her face. He hadn’t used that nickname in so long. He felt his cheeks flush as a pleased grin melted onto her lips. 

Waving her goodbye, Chat extended his baton and vaulted away before he could make a mess of things. 

Ladybug was his best friend. They had a wonderful dynamic and an even greater friendship. How long had he hurt himself over and over by pinning after her? Being her friend brought him so much happiness and although he tried to convince himself that it was time to move on and stop hoping for more, the card in his hand was physical evidence of how difficult she was making it for him to do just that. 

He had thought that his nascent feelings for Kagami would avert his eyes from his partner but alas, it seemed that getting over Ladybug required a lot more effort on his part. For months of strictly platonic banter and exchanges had so easily crumbled with her one act of thoughtfulness tonight. 

All it took was one card and just like that, his heart and mind were off, racing away. 

As Chat noir reached his manor, he slipped back into his room and released his transformation. A flash of green surrounded his form before dissipating with the magic, leaving Adrien in its wake. 

Without a word, the blonde padded over to his work desk and pulled open the drawer. He stared at the card, body still and restless. 

“Oh just read what it says and get it over with!” 

The sound of his kwami caused Adrien to sigh. Plagg had a point. 

Opening the card, Adrien was pleased to see that Ladybug had written a note for him in silver ink. Her handwriting was beautiful and filled with loops. All her letters were written in a graceful, cursive font.

Her handwriting however, nagged at him. He didn’t know why but he felt as if he had seen it somewhere before. 

It just so happened that as he looked down to put away the card, his eyes spotted the blue card that Marinette had given him earlier this year. Adrien wasn’t sure what caused him to pick it up and reread it but he did it anyway. At the time, he wasn’t aware of the mental aneurysm he would go through by choosing to do that. 

For the first thing that Adrien noticed was the way Marinette had written the letter L. It looped in perfect cursive. With a frown, he turned his eyes to look at the burgundy card and noticed that Ladybug had written her L’s the same way. In fact, the letters were so close in resemblance that they seemed almost identical. 

And that’s when Adrien realized that this wasn’t the first time Marinette’s handwriting had matched a card he already had.

In an instant, he was pulling out all his drawers and rummaging through them. It took a while but Adrien was finally able to find the heart-shaped card he had received last year on valentine’s day. The card he had initially thought was from Ladybug.

Setting all three cards down on his desk, he took his time looking over the handwriting on each. His green eyes traced the looping letters as his heart pounded furiously within his chest. 

Adrien tried. He tried his best to find a difference, be it a shade. He did his best to look for inconsistencies in the letters. 

In the end, he couldn’t.

His skin prickled as a cold shiver ran down his spine. As he stared at the three cards with wide eyes, it dawned on him that maybe all those months ago he hadn’t been wrong to wonder if Marinette was Ladybug. 

Because maybe, just maybe, if the universe was crazy enough, she truly was. 

* * *

The following day was nothing short of absolute hell. 

Adrien had tried to weasel his way out of his thoughts. The more time that passed, the more he began to convince himself that the handwriting may just be a coincidence.

Surely there was no way Marinette was actually Ladybug. Right?

_Right???_

He was thankful that he didn’t have any classes with her all day. Yet, that fact seemed useless since his mind persisted on wandering during every single one of his classes. 

English? Nope, he was more focused on trying to shake away other similarities between his sweet friend and partner. 

Science? Nada, he was too caught up with the way he had somehow missed the fact that both Marinette and Ladybug wore their hair in pigtails.  
  


Math? N-to-the-o. He was having a mental crisis by debating whether or not it was just the miraculous that caused Ladybug’s hair to look the way it did. 

History? Gone. By then, his mind was on fire. 

Needless to say, the school day whisked by in a blur, leaving Adrien no opportunity to tune into anything but his inner thoughts. 

It was only when he had arrived at the winter dance later that night that he realized he had completely forgotten to ask Kagami to go with him. 

* * *

“I think if we practice more, we could improve your stance. Yesterday, your posture was a bit off but I’m glad we won. I don’t think we would have been allowed to come to the dance if- Adrien?” 

The blonde blinked, snapping his eyes back to Kagami’s. Shoot. What was she saying again? 

_Something about the fencing tournament yesterday?_

“Adrien, are you even listening to me?” 

Sputtering momentarily, the blonde tucked both his hands into the pockets of his black pants, “Y-yeah, yeah! Uh- you were talking about the...tournament, right?” 

He swallowed as Kagami narrowed her eyes upon him, her lips thinning into a straight line. 

After a beat, she spoke with a hint of annoyance in her otherwise monotonous voice. “Yes. I was saying that I’m glad we won. I don’t think my mother or your father would have let us attend the dance- okay, _WHAT_ are you looking at?” 

With a frown, the young fencer turned around to see what her potential boyfriend was so transfixed on. This was the seventh time Adrien’s eyes had wandered to set on something past her shoulder. 

Upon inspecting the crowd, she couldn’t really see anything or anyone special. 

“Kagami, it’s nothing, really,” Adrien tried to reassure her. 

However, he knew that she wouldn’t shake something like this off so easily. He knew Kagami was bold and headstrong. She knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it. It was something he admired about her. 

Though at times, it made things difficult. Like now. 

After a few wordless moments, Kagami looked back, raising a brow. “Did you wanna say hi to Marinette?”

Adrien’s entire body locked. 

_No, no, no-_

It seemed that Kagami had taken his lack of input as a yes because the next thing he knew, he was being taken by the arm and yanked towards Ladybu- MARINETTE.

“Let’s go say hi.” 

Adrien’s feet shuffled as Kagami continued to drag him towards the snack bar. He had tried his best to keep his eyes off his bluebell-eyed friend. He had hoped that by averting his gaze from her presence, he wouldn’t have to deal with his rampaging thoughts.

Could Adrien have known that despite his efforts he would be face to face with a grinning Marinette? Never. 

He wanted to kick himself for greeting her with a frail, “hello.” 

And although Marinette had been polite about his unusual behaviour, as he observed her talking with Kagami, he kept insisting that maybe it had all truly been just a coincidence. 

Maybe Marinette was just Marinette. That's it. Nothing more and certainly nothing less.

Suddenly, he saw her pause and turn her face away from Kagami to look at him. 

Adrien’s body stiffened, be it slightly. He observed the way her eyes glimmered beneath the lighting of the dance. His mind painted a red mask around those eyes and his throat tightened. 

‘ _Stop it. You are literally going to drive yourself mental. Just be cool and talk to Marinette.’_

Wholeheartedly agreeing with the scolding voice in his head, Adrien decided that he would put all of this Ladybug nonsense to rest. 

Getting himself to smile, he noticed that Marinette was in the middle of pulling something out of her small, glittering red handbag. 

“I um, tried giving this to you yesterday but you two had already left for the fencing tournament,” Marinette spoke in a dulcet voice, though he couldn't help but pick up on a hint of uncertainty (or was it nervousness?) behind her words. 

Adrien watched as she pulled a card out from her bag and immediately, his heart stilled. 

“Anyways, here,” Marinette smiled, holding the pine coloured card out to him, “merry early Christmas, Adrien.”

The whiplash of déjà vu nearly knocked the breath out of his lungs. 

As Adrien stared at first her, then slowly, the card, all he could do was will his hands to stop trembling. He knew that if he waited a bit too long to take that card, it may send Marinette the wrong message. 

It was this thought alone that kicked his body back to life, prompting his hands to accept the thoughtful gesture. 

As his eyes took in the details of the card, he felt his stomach drop. Golden glitter lined the sides and in the center dazzled a holographic snowflake. The design was all too familiar. 

But it shouldn’t have been. 

Adrien shouldn’t feel as though he had already received this card. He shouldn’t unless- 

Opening the card, his breath hitched as his eyes landed on the writing within. The letters were looped and written in a graceful cursive font. They stared back at him in silver ink. 

Slowly, his eyes lifted to meet a pair of sapphires. 

He couldn’t deny it anymore. 

The card, to its design, to the handwriting itself. It all matched seamlessly. 

As Adrien stared into Marinette’s eyes, his heart pounded as he finally allowed himself to believe what he had bleakly tried to deny the entire night. 

The fact that Marinette Dupain-Cheng, his sweet, selfless classmate; his school’s everyday Ladybug was simply just that. 

Ladybug. 

And now, he wasn’t sure of what to do with that knowledge or himself. 

Because now, the existence of the card within his hand changed everything. 

Her civilian identity changed _everything_.


End file.
